The Rooftop [PA]

Performer: Jim Jones (Rap)
Artist: Webstar; Ricky Blaze; Styles P.; Young B.; Juelz Santana
Producer: Jane Minovskaya; Jane Minovskaya; Ricky Blaze
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: Audio Mixers: Arnold Mischkulnig; Sean Rock. A teenage rapper has a minor novelty hit -- in Webstar's case, 2006's "Chicken Noodle Soup" -- and usually that's about the end of the story. However, there was a spark in Webstar that caught the ear of Jim Jones, and the Dipset mogul called in the fellow Harlemite to whip up one duet. The pair clicked so well (or so the story goes) that Jones decided to take his new friend under his wing for a whole record, 2009's The Rooftop. Both rappers have had a beef with Jay-Z and others during the Brooklyn rapper's assault on Auto-Tune, and points on this album feel like a protest-too-much defense as the engineers go into tweaking overdrive, particularly on the centerpiece single, "Dancing on Me," a standard-issue strip club extolling jam. While the topic's been done (and done and done, etc.) and the Auto-Tune on steroids is a bit grating, it's nevertheless an appealing cut, as the beat lingers in the background -- hypnotic, never trying to do too much -- and Jones' growl has a knack for making even the most corny rhymes appealing. And most of the record is Auto-Tune-free, and while the lyrics rarely rise above stale tales of love, haters, and the MCs' mutual obsession, Internet life, the production is solid, if simple, making the record enjoyable, if inessential. ~ Jason Thurston

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